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You might have seen the odd rumour here and there about Everton being interested in Chris Smalling.

The English defender, for whom AS Roma fought tooth and nail to keep a year or so ago, is now on the transfer list, according to Il Tempo, mostly because José Mourinho ‘isn’t convinced about handing him the keys of the defence’.

That’s why the Italian newspaper believe Smalling is up for sale, with the Toffees reportedly interested in his services.

Things have changed a bit since Carlo Ancelotti left to return to Real Madrid, and with no manager still in sight for the Premier League side, Marcel Brands is having to probe the market gently to see who would be available.

Il Tempo explain that while the ‘right offer could arrive’ from England for Smalling, Everton, for the time being, have ‘limited themselves to an enquiry’.

Our guess is that’s because Brands is waiting to find the right manager before making any concrete transfer moves on the market, but remains attentive to potential deals to be done out there, just in case he needs to move quickly once Ancelotti’s successor is appointed.